The Brockton Public Schools K - 3 Promotion Policy
Introduction
Kindergarten Policy
Grade One Policy
Grade Two Policy
Grade Three Policy
Appeals Process
Appeals Procedure
Time Frame for Implementation
The Gateways and Pathways Model
Promotion without/with Condition
Gatekeeper Skills
Parent Participation
Special Education and Bilingual Students
Standards for Promotion and Critical Benchmark Skills
Introduction
The most important goal of any school system is helping all students meet
increasingly difficult academic standards. Under the leadership of Superintendent
Joseph A. Bage, the Brockton Public Schools is striving to implement systemic
changes which will assist us in reaching this goal. The first step in this process
was accomplished on June 20, 2000 when the Brockton School Committee adopted
a revised Promotion and Retention Policy for students in kindergarten through the
third grade.
The issue of implementing a student promotion policy has often been posed as
a debate over the relative benefits and disadvantages of promotion versus
retention. Yet, research informs us that neither strategy is appropriate for
students who are not meeting academic standards. Students who are promoted
without regard to their achievement tend to fall even further behind their
classmates as they move through school. At the same time, holding students back
to repeat a grade is ineffective when the decision is based on subjective and
variable criteria, and when the instructional strategies and curriculum offered to
failing students remain unchanged. The Brockton School Committee's revised
policy attempts to change this paradigm.
For most low-performing children under most circumstances, the alternative to
retention is not social promotion, but an alternate model which identifies skill
deficiencies early and offers extra instructional time through programs such as
after school skill groupings, Saturday school remediation and summer school.
Effective strategies during the school day have included cooperative learning,
looping, ungraded instruction and supplemental services such as tutoring. The
most effective solution combines early identification with both within-the-school
day and outside-of-the-regular school day interventions for the effective
remediation of learning problems.
Promotion and Retention of Students, Kindergarten - Grade Three
The school committee has established the following promotion and retention
policies for kindergarten - grade three:
Kindergarten:
Students failing to master the critical benchmarks of kindergarten will be
referred by the building principal to the Committee on Promotion and Retention
for one additional year of instruction in the Kindergarten-Plus Program.
Any student initially entering the first grade of the Brockton Public Schools who
has not completed the Brockton Public School's kindergarten program will be
assessed for early literacy skills utilizing the Brockton kindergarten checklist. The
results of this assessment will be one factor in determining placement in either
the kindergarten, the kindergarten-plus, or the grade one program.
Grade One:
Students who have mastered the critical benchmark skills of grade one in
reading and math will be promoted to grade two without condition. Students
failing to master the grade one critical benchmarks in reading and math will be
promoted to grade two with condition and will be strongly recommended to attend
a Pathways Program (summer school, Saturday School or an after-school
program) for additional instruction targeted to skill deficiencies.
Grade Two:
Students who have mastered the critical benchmark skills of grade two, and
who have attained a grade level score of 1.4 and above (first grade, fourth month)
on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in reading and math will be promoted without
condition to grade three. Students failing to meet these standards will be
promoted to grade three with condition and will be strongly recommended to
attend a Pathways Program (summer school, Saturday School or an after-school
program) for additional instruction targeted to skill deficiencies.
Grade Three:
Students who have mastered the critical benchmark skills of grade three, and
who have attained a grade level score of 2.4 and above (second grade, fourth
month) on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in reading and math will be promoted
without condition to grade four. Students failing to meet these standards will be
mandated to attend a summer school program where they will receive instruction
targeted to correct skill deficiencies and be retested at the conclusion of the
program. Students who do not attend summer school or who fail to achieve the
benchmark and/or testing standards of grade three at the conclusion of the
summer school program will be referred to a Committee on Promotion and
Retention which will work cooperatively with the building principal to determine
the students' placement for the ensuing year.
Please note that students in Special Education and Bilingual/ESL programs are
exempt from this policy. The movement of these students through the school
system will be determined by the IEP team or the Language Assessment Team.
Appeals process:
An appeal of a decision made by the Committee on Promotion and Retention
may be made in writing to the Deputy Superintendent of Schools who will make
the final decision in all appeals cases.
Appeals Procedure:
The school committee has assured that the revised promotion policy contains
an appeal through the office of the deputy superintendent when parents do not
agree with the promotion decision made for their child.
Time Frame for Implementation:
This revised policy is being implemented over a three year period. The policy
applied only to kindergarten and grade one regular education students during the
1999-2000 school year. The policy will apply to kindergarten, grade one and grade
two students at the conclusion of the 2000-2001 school year and to all
kindergarten, grade one, grade two and grade three students at the conclusion of
the 2001-2002 school year.
The Gateways and Pathways Model:
The Brockton School Committee's new Promotion and Retention Policy
identifies kindergarten and grade three as the "Gateway years" when retention in
a "Plus Program" will be mandated for those students who fail to meet the
standards for those grade levels. Grades one and two are identified as "Pathway
years," or years when extra instructional time for targeted instruction to erase
skill deficiencies will be made available for all students (including special
education and bilingual students) who fail to meet the standards established for
those grades.
Promotion without condition and Promotion with condition:
The school committee has replaced the concept of retention for most students
at the first and second grades with the new concept of "Promotion without
condition," and "Promotion with condition." Rather than retaining students for
another year of the same educational experience, additional instructional hours
targeted to remediate skill deficiencies through Pathway Programs will be offered
to students who fail to meet the standards. These opportunities will be provided
on a voluntary basis for those first, second and third graders who either fail or
who are at risk of failing to master the standards of their grade level. Following
the school year, 2001-2002, those third graders who fail to meet the standards
will be mandated to attend a summer school program and will be given a second
chance at the conclusion of summer school to demonstrate their mastery of the
standards. Students failing to meet the third grade standards following summer
school will be assigned to a "Three Plus Program."
Gatekeeper Skills:
We have chosen gatekeeper critical benchmark skills from two academic
subjects: - literacy and mathematics - as the basis for the decision-making process
because these two skills will determine whether or not a student will eventually
succeed in the Brockton school system, and throughout life. The skills have been
listed at the conclusion of this section.
Parent Participation:
We invite parents to participate with us in this undertaking. We invite parents
to hold the school system accountable, but they are not without accountability
themselves. Parents will be kept well-informed, with accurate and timely
information regarding the progress that their children are making. They will be
kept informed concerning the support systems that are recommended to enable
their children to meet standards. Parents will have a clear understanding of the
consequences to their sons and daughters should they choose not to participate in
the support programs and extended learning opportunities and still fail to meet
the standards.
Special Education and Bilingual Students:
Decisions concerning the movement of special education and bilingual students
through the grade levels of the school system is determined by federal and state
law. IEP teams must decide whether students with special needs can be required
to meet the promotional standards of the school system or, after determining that
modifications of the standards are necessary, include the modifications in the
student's Individual Education Plan.
Language Assessment Teams must make the same decisions for students in the
bilingual or ESL programs. The modification of the promotion standards for
students within the Bilingual Program will be determined by the Language
Assessment Teams following the directions provided in the Bilingual Department's
STEP Program.
Standards for Promotion and Critical Benchmark Skills:
The revised promotion policy is based upon student demonstration of specific
standards defined as "Student Products Standards" and "Student Testing
Standards" for the kindergarten, grade one, grade two and grade three grade
levels. These standards are to be mastered by pupils as they progress through the
curriculum and instructional frameworks of the school system. Early identification
of skill deficiencies and remedial programs designed to provide intervention
strategies as soon as difficulties with critical benchmark standards arise are
offered to students through after school, summer school and Saturday school
programs.